Monday, June 20, 2016

For a Better America, Don't We Need Better Americans?

David
Cross' sense of humor definitely falls into the dark humor category, his jokes
take a cynical and skeptical approach and make light of the problematic nature
of developing culture in the US. The politically liberal approach to
controversy that Cross takes is hardly uncommon among the most successful
comedians we see in Netflix specials and live theater showings. One could even
say such an approach becomes a necessity for success in a nation where comedy
news shows such as the Daily Show reach huge success and liberal audiences
while conservative news shows make no attempt to compete on the comical side of
news television.

Obviously,
comedy is meant to be funny, but you might have noticed that most comedians
generally try to convince their audiences of one thing or another at some
point. Cross' "Make America Great Again" show fires off criticisms of
the Trump Campaign and the NRA for almost the entirety of the show, but he
rarely gets into the roots of the politics or anything more specific than references
to statements from the people he roasts. Perhaps Cross only targets the
politically liberal audience for its marketability, but this quote from David Cross
suggests otherwise: “At least 25%
of America has always been ignorant, racist, xenophobic and backwards, people
prone to demagoguery. That’s not a surprise. The surprise is that there’s this
loud, brash, arrogant narcissist giving these people a voice and making them
feel proud.” The crowd Cross brings in is likely to agree; most of the
conservative ideas Cross targets in his comedy hardly need any convincing to
see how ridiculous they are.

Cross' humor focuses on the way culture surrounding irrational ideal and
policy has developed. One of Cross' bits draws attention to is the perception
of the Pope in the media. Cross' criticisms of the Pope as a "cool"
and trendy public figure draws attention to the mechanisms by which powerful
organizations side step logic and controversy with a large portion of
Americans. Early in the show, Cross reassures his audience, expressing his
doubt that Trump will even come close to winning the Presidential election.
Clearly, Cross does not need to convince his audience not to vote for Trump.
However, putting Trump at the center of his comedic focus raises concerns about
the problematic development of a subculture that has become a strong following
for Trump. The cynical focus of Cross' brand of comedy does not attempt to push
any liberal agenda or pander to the liberal public, but instead works to draw awareness
to the worrying condition of American intelligence in today's developing
culture.